Trump welcomes home 3 U.S. detainees freed by North Korea

Trump welcomes home 3 U.S. detainees freed by North Korea

President Donald Trump waves after speaking to the media as he meets the three Americans released from detention in North Korea upon their arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., May 10, 2018. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

In a made-for-TV ceremony in the dead of night, President Donald Trump on Thursday welcomed home three Americans freed by North Korea and declared their release a sign of promise toward his goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

With the former detainees by his side on a dark air base tarmac, Trump called it a “great honor” to welcome the men to the U.S., but said “the true honor is going to be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons.”

Pence, Pompeo, first lady Melania Trump and other top officials joined Trump in the highly scripted celebration in the wee hours of Thursday morning at Joint Base Andrews near Washington. The men — Kim Dong-chul, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim — had been released Wednesday amid a warming of relations between the longtime adversaries. (AP)